TV, betting odds and a facts to impress your friends about Duke vs. Boston College
Duke football coach David Cutcliffe said it should be one of those “snap-your-chinstrap-tight” kind of games.
The thought of playing Boston College has always been one of expecting a bruising, physical game and Cutcliffe believes that BC identity won’t change under new head coach Jeff Hafley.
The Blue Devils faced one of the country’s most experienced, imposing offensive lines last week against Notre Dame. And BC, which comes to Durham on Saturday for its season opener, also has a “pro football look” on the O-line, Cutcliffe said.
Left tackle Zion Johnson and right guard Ben Petrula both are seniors and both were second-team All-ACC choices for Boston College last season. The Eagles also will start two redshirt sophomores who are returning starters, center Eric Lindstrom and right tackle Tyler Vrabel, and redshirt freshman Christian Mahogany at left guard.
“I’m definitely expecting some smash-mouth football,” Duke senior defensive tackle Derrick Tangelo said this week. “When you have a big offensive line you can really take control of the game but we have a big defensive line as well. It’s going to be experience on experience, big on big.”
Cutcliffe, on his weekly radio show, said he liked the way his defensive front matched the physicality of Notre Dame’s offensive line. The Blue Devils will need more of the same Saturday against the Eagles regardless of the offensive strategy the new BC staff devises for the game.
How to watch
Saturday’s game, which has a noon start at Wallace Wade Stadium, will be broadcast on Fox Sports Carolinas.
Betting odds
As of Friday, ESPN had Duke as a 6-point favorite. The over/under was listed at 51.5.
Quick notes
* Jeff Hafley’s staff at BC includes defensive line coach Vince Oghobaase, who knows his way around Wade Stadium. Oghobaase was a four-year starter on the defensive line for Duke (2006-09) and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Cutcliffe.
* The flipside: Duke defensive line coach Ben Albert spent three years (2013-15) on the BC staff.
* Hafley, 41, spent seven seasons in the NFL before returning to college football last season as co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach at Ohio State. His official title is: “The Gregory P. Barber ‘69 and Family Head Coach of the Boston College Football Program.”
* The last Duke-BC game was five years ago and not very memorable. Duke won 9-7 on Oct. 3, 2015 in Durham as the Eagles missed a late 45-yard field goal attempt.
* Some of it might be coachspeak but Hafley was impressed by the play of Duke quarterback Chase Brice against Notre Dame, saying, “He’s big and strong. I liked the way he stood in the pocket and took some hits and got back up. I respect him for his toughness.”
* The BC defensive line was bolstered by graduate transfer Luc Bequette, a 6-2, 290-pound tackle who started 38 consecutive games the past three years at Cal-Berkeley. Bequette’s mother, Debi Thomas, won a bronze medal for the U.S. in figure skating in the 1988 Winter Games
* Duke is 10-2 in home openers under Cutcliffe with eight straight wins. Its last ACC opponent in a home opener was Virginia Tech, which won 45-0 in 2005.
* Cutcliffe had his 66th birthday Wednesday but says he was so consumed with football planning that his wife had to remind him he had a birthday coming up this week. The players reminded him, too, after practice this week, singing “Happy Birthday.”
This story was originally published September 18, 2020 at 1:40 PM.
